FTC starts issuing refunds to Epic Games users following settlement

The US' Federal Trade Commission has started the process to refund consumers impacted by Epic Games' alleged dark pattern tactics that led to unwanted purchases.

Over $72 million will be sent in refunds, with the average payment being around $114, the FTC said.

The organisation said that it's currently sending a first batch representing 629,344 payments (half of them being checks, and the other being Paypal payments, it said), with the remaining payments to be sent "at a later date."

This is part of a settlement reached in December 2022, with Epic ordered to pay more than half a billion dollars to settle charges from the FTC.

The included $275 million for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and $245 million for design relying on dark patterns "to dupe millions of players into making unintentional purchases."

The FTC started notifying consumers eligible for refunds back in September 2023, representing over 37 million people.